English 110
· Four types of Cree Pro nouns
1. Personal pronouns
§ Singular
· Niya (I)
· Kya (you)
· Wiya(he/she)
§ Plural
· Niyanān (we – excl.)
· Kiyanaw (we – inclu.)
· Kiyawāw (you)
· Wiyawāw (they)
2. Inclusive pronouns
§ Singular
· Nīsta (I too/also)
· Kīsta (you too/also)
· Wīsta (him/her too/also)
§ Plural
· Nīstanān (we too/also – excl.)
· Kīstanaw (we too/also – incl.)
· Kīstawāw (you too/also)
· Wīstawāw (they too/also)
3. Interrogative pronouns
§ They represent who, what, where, which, why, when, and how of the English language.
§ Pronouns that are not affected by gender
· tānitowahk -what kind?
· tānēhki -why?
· tānispīhk -when?
· tānisi -how?
· tāniyikohk -how much? (in quantity)
· tānitahto -how many? (in numbers)
· tānitahtwāw -how many times?
· tānitē -where?
§ Pronouns that are affected by gender (animate or inanimate)
· Singular
o Animate inanimate english
o tāniwā tāniwē Where is he/she/it?
o tāna tānima which one?
o Awīna -- who?
o Kīkwāy kīkwāy what?
·
· Plural
o Animate inanimate english
o tāniwēhkāk tāniwēhā where are they?
o tāniki tānihi which ones?
o Awīniki -- who?
o Kīkwāyak kīkwāya what?
4. Demonstrative pronouns
· these pronouns demonstrate or show the location of a noun/object.
· Singular
o Animate inanimate English
o Awa ōma this (one here)
o Ana anima that (one there)
o Nāha nēma that (one over there)
· Plural
o ōki ōhi these (ones here)
o Aniki anihi those (ones there)
o nēki nēhi those (ones over there)
· Conjunctions
1. ēkwa - and/now*when in last position!
2. māka - but/then*/and*depends on context!
3. ahpō - or/even*depends on context!
4. mīna - also/too/plus*depends on context!
· Particles
1. cī – question indicator
2. āha – yes
3. Mwāc – no
· Paradigm structure
§ paradigm structure is used to show the 1st, 2nd, 3rd [singular and plural] person forms of Personal and Inclusive pronouns
§ Paradigm Structure
§ 1 - first person singular – I
§ 2 - second person singular - You (sg.)
§ 3 - third person singular - He/She
§ 1P - first person plural excl. - We (excluding the listener)
§ 2I - first person plural incl. - We (including the listener)
§ 2P - second person plural - You (pl.)
§ 3P - third person plural – They
· Word Order
1. “ci”
§ the particle 'cī' is used to ask a question when no other interrogative pronoun is being used in the same sentence. It takes 2nd position in a sentence. Exception: It will take 3rd position if a number accompanies the noun.
2. Interrogative pronouns
§ like English, these pronouns usually begin a sentence – 1 st position.
§ the word order in the following example is restricted because an interrogative pronoun is used with a demonstrative pronoun. The demonstrative pronoun must take 2nd position in this case and never in 1st position because it will not make sense.
§ interrogative pronouns can sometimes be placed in last position depending on the context of what is being said. A conjunction is usually present in this case
§ The particle 'cī' and other interrogative pronouns are never used together because that would be redundant.
3. demotrative pronouns
§ placing demonstrative pronouns before or after a noun somewhat alters/changes the meaning of the sentence
§ To formulate this type of a sentence into a question, the particle 'cī' is inserted in 2 nd position but only when the noun is in 1st position.
§ -note that in both examples above, the demonstrative pronoun is placed in 1 st position. That is considered awkward and deemed poor Cree grammar